OPENING PANDORA’S BOX: CONSERVATIVE COMPLAINTS ABOUT ILLINOIS HB 4623 (HINT: THEY’E NOT OURS!)

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Tonight Bastardette has to write a long over-due article for the Bastard Quarterly. But as a compulsive surfer she had to take a couple moments to see what non-bastards think about Illinois HB 4623. (We already know what Bastards think about it!). Let me tell you! It’s galling to be on the “same side” as these ahistorical sob sisters who can’t go from A to B without detouring to Peoria. The twisted paths would make Proust envious. At least the Illinois Catholic Conference, despite its control issues, remains neutral. As for the Illinois Review,‘s “Pandora’s Box” fears: why is this classical reference always used in an attempt to intimidate adoptees? As adoptee rights activist and poet Penny Partridge will tell you, what’s left in the bottom of the box is Hope. (left: Penny opens Pandora’s Box, performance piece, AAC Conference Portland, OR, March 2008. Photo by Bastardette). Lets begin!Illinois Federation for Right to Life Legislation: HB 4623–The Adoption-Confid Intermediary Bill ARGUMENT: A non-anonymous birth parent will out an anonymous birth parent. For their own good, the state has a duty to monitor, control and forbid free speech and association amongst its citizens. (Shouts to us in CAPS, but I’ll save Continue Reading →

AND THE BEAT GOES ON: FOREVER FAMILY FOREVER DEAD UPDATE

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A little over 2 1/2 years ago I wrote Forever Family, Forever Dead, about the 12 Russian adoptees murdered by their forever families in the US. Since then the entry has received thousands of hits including those from the US Senate, House, federal courts, and the media.Tragically, we have a 13th death to add to the list: Nicoli Emelyantsev,14 months old. Kolya died on March 7 of a fractured skull caused by blunt force trauma. Kolya had Down Syndrome. Kolya had been voluntarily relinquished by his parents in hope of a better life in the US. His mother visited him weekly until his departure to the US and had wanted to stay in contact with his new family. Kolya’s adoptive mother, Kimberly Emelyantsev has been charged with 1st degree felony murder and is being held on $500,000 cash bond. His adoptive father, Fyodor Emelyantsev, a Russian citizen, is under investigation for child abuse and neglect after doctors determined another son, Luka, 4, adopted from Russia in December 2007, was suffering from malnutrition and dehydration. Luka also has Down Syndrome. Emelyantsev also has a 10-year old daughter with Down Syndrome and is trained in handling disabled persons. He works as an Continue Reading →

BASTARD NATION ACTION ALERT! STOP ILLINOIS HB 4623! FULL ACCESS FOR ALL ADOPTEES!

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BASTARD NATION: THE ADOPTEE RIGHTS ORGANIZATION P.O. Box 1469 Edmond, OK www.bastards.org PLEASE DISTRIBUTE FREELY ILLINOIS ACTION ALERT URGE THE ILLINOIS HOUSE TO VOTE NO ON HB4623 HB 4623, sponsored by Representative Sara Feigenholtz, is a dangerous bill and must be voted down. Sometime during the month of April, the Illinois House of Representatives is scheduled to vote on HB4623. We do not know what day the bill will get to the House floor, so we must ACT IMMEDIATELY in order to let our voices be heard. {Please see easy Contact Information below} IF PASSED INTO LAW, HB 4623 WOULD……..give birth parents 6 months after the bill is passed to file “Denial of Information” forms with the Adoption Registry. Any adoptee whose birth parent files a “Denial of Information” form will NOT receive an original birth certificate. This section includes a 6 month advertising campaign to let birthmothers know their choices. …..define three different classes of adult adoptees, those born before 1946, those born between January 1, 1946 and January 2009, and all prospective adoptions. …..give all prospective birth parents 21 years in which to file a Denial of Information Form. Current law requires them to file a denial within Continue Reading →

SUNDAY BLOGGER ALERT

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Here’s a couple must-read blogs: New blogger (but not new to adoption reform) Mary Fuller has launched The Rights of Adoptees blog. She’s got some kick-ass entries on Illinois which are relevant to every state that treats bastards as social and legal pariahs. Mary and I go back a long way. I first ran into her on the old FIDONET adoption BBS in..what…1992? Also check out Baby Love Child’s latest entry on the Sueppel murders in Iowa. Good commentary and a great compendium of links to the case. What’s Holt afraid of? HAPPY READING!

PASS IT ON: YOU MAKE THE WORLD A BETTER PLACE

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You Make the World a Better Place is making the rounds of the adoptasphere. It was sent my way by This Woman’s Work proprietor Dawn Friedman. Thanks, Dawn, for your kind words. And now, I’m passing this on to… Baby Love Child–long time friend and supporter of Bastardette, Bastard Nation, and Bastards. BLC is my Theory Girl. I’m just the technician! Ron Morgan–BB Church’s Funhouse–another longtime friend and supporter. The most righteous Bastard in the whole world! Cynical, street smart, and cool, BB is right out of a James Ellroy novel. He speaks POMO like he’s Judith Butler! He’s also co-organizing A Day For Adoptee Rights. Anita Field–Bastard Granny Annie. What can I say! From her bed of affliction she’s kickin’ ass in Illinois. Anita is one of the most dedicated bastards I know. We pre-date BN. If Anita can’t do it, nobody can! Recoop soon! Craig Hickman, author of Fumbling Toward Divinity: The Adoption Scriptures, one of the best adoption books ever! Craig is the uber Bastard writer tying together those inconvenient truths of blackness, bastardy, and queerness through the written word and performance. An absolute powerhouse! Claud Corrigan D’Arcy–Musings of the Lame–is amazing. punkette, mom, writer, and researcher. Continue Reading →

FIGHT BACK! ADOPTION REFORM ILLINOIS RELEASES ANALYSIS OF HB 4623!

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Adoption Reform Illinois has just released its analysis and projected effect of HB 4623. Entitled Separating Fact from Hype, [pdf] the two-page report contains little nuggets the Mitchell-Feigenholtz spin machine doesn’t want you to know about its 77-page “simple” and “adoptee friendly” bill. For example: HB 4623 allows birth parents wishing no contact to exercise an access veto. In these situations adoptees will receive a birth certificate with the names of the parents and the birth name of the adoptee removed. Yes, under this bill your own name can be removed from an original government document that is about you and belongs to you. As someone pointed out earlier, isn’t that records tampering? Sure it is! But, I guess if it’s about adoption it’s OK for apparatchiks to fold, spindle, and mutilate you. Just be grateful you were born. Be happy that friendly politicians and paternalistic adoption industrialists are here to feel your pain. Take what your unworthy infantile ass can get. Shut up! Go here to access the Green Ribbons sponsored Adoption Reform Illinois resource page. All documents are in pdf form so be sure you have Adobe to read them. Besides Separating Fact from Hype you’ll find a Continue Reading →

ILLINOIS: MITCHELL-FEIGENHOLTZ SPIN MACHINE GOES INTO ACTION! WHAT ARE THEY AFRAID OF?

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On March 31, Melisha Mitchell, putative author of Sara Feigenholtz’s notorious 77-page monster HB 4623 sent a mass mailing to AdoptionLand constituents asking for support. In this letter, Ms. Mitchell plays games with numbers, flogs the Illinois Registry, and claims that the only “real” opposition to the bill comes from “right-to-life” groups and “obscure internet entities.” The “obscure internet entities” she forgets to mention include Illinois Open, Bastard Nation, the Green Ribbons, Ethica, A Day for Adoptee Rights, BJ Lifton, Carol Schaefer, Sandra White Hawk, Maine Senator Paula Benoit, and New Hampshire Representative Janet Allen. “Obscure” indeed! Scroll down to my entry “Illinois Adoption Reform Coalition Urges: Reject HB 4623” for the Illinois Adoption Reform letter these and other prominent adoption reformers and activists signed and sent to the Illinois Legislature and the media last week. The Mitchell-Feigenholtz spin machine thought the rest of us would roll over. We have not and will not. Mitchell’s letter raises all sorts of questions: How “simple” can a 77-page procedure be? Why are some adoptees more deserving than others? Why are birthparents and other relatives (!) given 5 disclosure “choices”? How, ethically, can a birthparent for the cost of $40 wipe out their Continue Reading →

ILLINOIS: ASTOUNDING CLAIM–MOST ADOPTEES ALREADY HAVE THE NAMES OF THEIR BIRTHPARENTS!

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Recently, an Illinois adoptee sent me an email from Melisha Mitchell regarding HB 4623’s provision on deceased birth parents. In it Ms. Mitchell makes the astounding claim that 80-90% of Illinois adoptees already know the names of their birthparents, particularly the names of their first mothers! I am publishing this letter in full, with permission of the recepient, but am withholding the name upon request. I have highlighted the most egregious statements in yellow. Dear XXX: Thanks for all your (really good) questions regarding the pending Illinois legislation. I was in Springfield last week, and came home to dozens of emails on the bill…including yours…and shall do my utmost to answer your questions… In a message dated xxx, XXX writes: >Will birth parent “requests for anonymity” eventually expire under HB 4623? Yes, under the proposed law, all birth parent requests for anonymity throughthe Registry will expire upon the birth parent’s death. >How will the State of Illinois know when/if the birth parent has died? I can see if a death >certificate is issued in Illinois – what about anywhere else in the world? As you point out, if the birth parent died in Illinois (or was born in Illinois, which Continue Reading →

FLORIDA: Make That a Double Dew with Bleach on the Side

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Sometimes a story doesn’t need a comment. Here’s one of them. Survey: Fla. Teens Believe Drinking Bleach Will Prevent HIVSome Teens Also Believe Mountain Dew Will Stop PregnancyPOSTED: 1:54 pm EDT April 2, 2008UPDATED: 4:34 pm EDT April 2, 2008 ORLANDO, Fla. — A recent survey that found some Florida teens believe drinking a cap of bleach will prevent HIV and a shot of Mountain Dew will stop pregnancy has prompted lawmakers to push for an overhaul of sex education in the state. The survey showed that Florida teens also believe that smoking marijuana will prevent a person from getting pregnant. State lawmakers said the myths are spreading because of Florida’s abstinence-only sex education, Local 6 reported. They are proposing a bill that would require a more comprehensive approach, the report said. It would still require teaching abstinence but students would also learn about condoms and other methods of birth control and disease prevention. The bill just passed its first vote in a committee, Local 6 reported.